“I'm pretty excited to play. It's what you train for and want to do,” Hine told NMFC.com.au.
Returning from a long-term shoulder injury and having to settle into a new club is a big challenge, but the defender says the move was a smooth one.
"The transition was actually pretty easy with my parents and girlfriend being down here with me.
“On the footy side of things, the club has been brilliant. Everyone has been really welcoming and made settling in super-easy. I couldn't ask for it to be much better."
Making the leap from Werribee to North Melbourne has also been made relatively comfortable for Hine given he’ll be among some familiar faces.
"Narn (Nathan Grima) and Kenno (Ayden Kennedy) were brilliant last week (for Werribee) so it'll be good to play with them again.
"But I've been training with the senior squad for the whole pre-season, so I feel like I know everyone well enough to play with them."
From a performance perspective, Hine has worked closely with the development coaches to eradicate some weaknesses.
"We've been working on a lot of things. My kicking is something I really want to improve and we've all worked together to make it come a long way. It's definitely getting there which is good."
Promisingly for the third-year player, he has built up his confidence after getting through two games at Werribee unscathed.
"I was just happy to get out there and get through the (VFL) games after the shoulder surgery I was coming back from. It was good to know that it felt alright and I didn't have any issues with it."
The former Gold Coast Sun was taken by North with pick 61 in the National Draft.
Originally from Melbourne, the 21-year old says the quick recovery from his first major long-term injury wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of North’s medical staff.
“It's good to get the shoulder right and now I'm ready to run out there.”
“Guys like Steve Saunders (Director of Medical Services) and Shane O'Sullivan (Physiotherapist) have been a big help in my recovery,” he added.
“It's good to have those blokes around so I can get through it and be ready for the start of the season."
While remaining level-headed about what he could potentially achieve in 2013, Hine's enthusiasm seeped through when discussing his goals for the season.
"You're always trying to play games and do everything you can to play. I'm not really worrying too much about a set number of games to play this year.
"Initially it was just getting my shoulder right so I was ready to play at the start of the year, so getting this game is a bit of a bonus. Being able to play the last couple of weeks has been really good and getting out there this week in the blue and white is something I'm really looking forward to.”
